Dulles to LAX Indirect
by Arraydesign
Summary: CJ, Danny, a series of scenes from Duck and Cover to the end of the administration."He knows he can’t just keep waiting, but he’s not sure what his next move should be."
1. The Red Eye

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 1: ****The Red Eye**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's except Jim.  
Author's Notes: Takes place after Duck and Cover. Please review.

Late at night he's watching as the story unfolds on CSPAN. He's knows there's nothing to do or say, and no way he can intrude on her concentration… not now. Still he sends an email. "Saw the news. Talk to you when you surface." he signs it the way he used to, "D.C." because it's kind of a private joke, and he can't risk signing anything else. He's mildly surprised to get a return email the same night. All it says is "You don't know the half of it, but I'm still treading water.- CJ"

He lets it go at that.

Two days later the phone rings and it's Jim MacIntyre, a freelance photo journalist he's worked with before.

"Danny, I've got National Geographic hooked on a background piece on nuclear energy and the various missteps along the way. Why don't you come on out to California for a few days, we'll do some interviews and photos, then next week I'll meet you in Pennsylvania and we can do some '25 years on' details on Three Mile island. Are you in?"

He agrees because he knows this is no time to discuss anything with her. He's heading out to Los Angeles as Air Force One wings its way back to Washington. He sends her a couple of emails while he's in California, but there's no real content in them. Nothing you wouldn't send to a friend. Nothing to cause pressure.

One week later he's on the red eye back to Dulles. He's tired, but he can't seem to sleep, so he fills the time writing a POV for the Post, making a list of facts he needs to have checked on the Three Mile Island debacle and a brief synopsis for a side bar on Chernobyl. He pretty well has the info clear on San Andreo. He has a copy of the Kemeny Commission Report in his briefcase and he hauls it out and starts highlighting. Somewhere over Missouri he pulls out his i pod and leans the seat back, and selects his 'Beatles Ballads' playlist, hoping it will lull him to sleep.

_Something in the way she moves,  
Attracts me like no other lover.  
Something in the way she woos me.  
I don't want to leave her now,  
You know I believe in how._

He closes his eyes.

_Somewhere in her smile she knows,  
That I don't need no other lover.  
Something in her style that shows me.  
I don't want to leave her now,  
You know I believe in how.  
_  
Bad choice. He's halfway through the song before he realizes he's on the verge of tears. Damn it. He feels like he's back to where he started eight or so years ago. Damn Josh Lyman anyways. Like he needed a reminder of the date… Of 'the current window in time'. Part of him wishes that he hadn't called her. He was doing okay alone... wasn't he? God, it's Josh who should be listening to this song, not him.

_You're asking me will my love grow,  
I don't know, I don't know.  
Stick around, and it may show,  
But I don't know, I don't know.  
_

Yes, him. He can't blame Josh for this one really. He knew he was coming back to Washington for this. Knew he couldn't stay away. He swears if this doesn't work he's really going to give up. No.. really… he will. He knows he can't just keep waiting, but he's not sure what his next move should be. It's the look she had on her face when she said, "I wanted to see you" that keeps him in the game. He's seen her in the background on CNN and CSPAN over the last week and she looks solemn and tired. Hell, they all look tired, and it doesn't look like there's a lot of fun on Pennsylvania Avenue these days. He knows she can't or won't reach out to him. He needs to find a way in.

_Something in the way she knows,  
And all I have to do is think of her.  
Something in the things she shows me.  
I don't want to leave her now.  
You know I believe and how._

He does what he always does when he wants to know her schedule, or her mood, or the length of time a member of the Fourth Estate could survive in the halls of the West Wing. He emails Carol.

*******

It's been a difficult week. It's after midnight and she's still going through briefing notes for a meeting the next morning. She's curled up in her pajamas and robe in the armchair with a cup of coffee beside her on the table. She's tired. She's tired of the crises that dog her every day, she's tired of being in charge, and she's tired of not having anyone to joke and play with. She misses her spin boys, her buddies. She's read the same page three times, but she can't seem to focus. She's waiting for the caffeine to kick in and her attention is wandering, and she finds herself thinking about him. She's thinking about his hands. She remembers the feel of his hand on the back of her neck, under her hair. Fidgeting nervously on the tablecloth….. Creating white space…Neutral territory. A magic trick… what had she been thinking? She pinches the bridge of her nose. Her blackberry rings and she reaches for it without looking, nearly putting her hand into the coffee. She picks it up, recognizes the number for her secret service detail, and says "What's up, Rob?"

"Uh, Mr. Concannon's at the door ma'am"

"You let him up?"

"Yes, ma'am. He seemed to think you were expecting him."

"I don't really know what you guys are paid for…"

"No ma'am."

There's a knock on the door. When she opens it Danny is there with a carry bag. He walks in.

"I thought you were in California?"

"I was… yesterday…or this morning. Red eye last night to Dulles. Stories to file today, but I thought since we missed dessert last time I'd bring it over."

"I'm still kind of working." She waves the briefing papers at him. "I have a meeting at 8:00 am."

He pulls a piece of pink phone message paper out of his pocket and hands it to her. "Oh yeah. Margaret says it's pushed to 10:00 a.m."

"You saw Margaret today? She told you I would be here?"

"C.J., there's a black limo parked out front and two guys in suits and overcoats hanging around on the front stoop…… she didn't have to tell me. " He grins at her cheekily. "Carol told me……. Margaret was the one who told me Giuseppe had chocolate cheesecake in the kitchen, and quite honestly you weren't here when they told me. I just asked when your last meeting of the day was, and figured it out from there."

"How do you do that? How do you get my assistants to work for you all the time? First Carol, now Margaret? They're supposed to work for me!"

He shrugs. "I don't know… women like me" he smiles at her.

"Some of them do!"

He shrugs again, "Well I guess the flowers and the gifts don't hurt"

She swats at him with her file folder and he knows he's halfway home. "Cheesecake?" he says temptingly, holding up the bag.

She half smiles and shakes her head, but he's already in the kitchen pulling plates out of the cupboard. "Okay I have presentation instructions here…" he unfolds a sheet of paper.

She sits down on a high stool, ready to be distracted. Beating back demons….Looking to be amused… She puts the folder of briefing notes down on the counter and leans on it.

"Do you have any confectionary sugar?" he asks.

"I don't even know what that is"

"Hmmm… okay, we'll do without that." He takes a bottle of chocolate sauce out of the bag and drizzles it on to the two plates.

She reaches out and swipes a fingerful off the nearest plate.

"Hey! That one's going to be yours then!"

"I'm okay with that."

She does it again as he's shifting pieces of chocolate cheesecake out of a pastry box and on to the plates.

"Hey! Cut it out…. Presentation is important here!"

He adds a little more chocolate sauce and is reaching into the bag when she tries for a third time, this time scooping up a little bit of cheesecake. His hand shoots out and grabs her by the wrist before she can get it to her mouth.

"I told you… no!"

She's laughing for the first time all week. They struggle a little but he's got her overpowered because she's giggling too much. He brings her hand to his mouth and licks the chocolate off her fingers. He still has her fingers in his mouth when he looks her in the eye. She stops laughing, and there is moment of silence before she says "Danny….. Did you come here tonight to seduce me?"

He smiles at her. "I kinda did, yeah." And he reaches under her hair and pulls her in for a long kiss. If anything it's better than he remembered, and he finds it more difficult than he anticipated to stop and tease, "How am I doing so far?"

"And when I said I didn't want to see you until after we were out of office?" Her hands are on his shoulders, under his suspenders.

"Totally ignoring it.' He slips his hands under his suspenders so that they drop off his shoulders, reaches out for her, pulls her in again and kisses her long and sweetly. She puts her arms around his neck, and he kisses the soft skin below her ear and down onto her shoulder. He breathes in her scent, and he can feel his blood pounding as he says lightly, "Do you still want dessert?"

"I thought that's what we were having"

He runs his fingers up just inside the collar of her pajamas, up her neck and smoothes a piece of hair behind her ear. "I was thinking of this more as an appetizer..." He grins. He looks like a kid waiting to be given permission to create mischief.

She kisses him softly. "I assume you have some kind of plan for the entrée?" but she's the one unbuttoning his shirt.

He looks at the ceiling, shakes his head, pulls her to her feet and says 'You should come with me now, so we avoid working that innocent little metaphor to death." He starts towards the bedroom, but she's really on a roll now.

"You don't want to talk about the daily special?"

"Not really, no!"

"How about reservations?"

"Only if you've still got 'em"

"How about Catch of the Day?"

"Get over here!" he reels her in and she slips her arms around him under his shirt. They kiss long and hard before he half falls half pulls her on to the bed. He stops for a moment and takes her face in his hands. "You can still say no." he says gently. This time it's her. Pulling him closer and kissing him an answer.

***************

He wakes up suddenly, knowing he's not in his own apartment. She's sitting on the bed beside him, wearing only her robe, finishing a piece of cheesecake."

"Hey Sleeping Beauty. Welcome back"

He shakes his head groggily. "I prefer Prince Charming."

"Yeah, me too,"

"What time is it?"

"About two thirty."

He squints at her. "I fell asleep?"

She nods. "Well, you were working pretty hard," she teases. "Maybe it was just 'cause you were up for so long." She licks the fork and smiles at him seductively.

He smiles at her sleepily. "Hmmm. Feels like I did something right the first time."

"This was your first time? You should have told me. I would have been more gentle."

"Come closer so I can smack you." He says lazily, but she just laughs.

He struggles to sit up. "And why are you still awake?"

I heard the chocolate cheesecake calling my name. It was quite loud. I'm surprised you slept through it." She holds up a forkful. "Last bite?" He shakes his head. She puts the empty plate on the bedside table.

"You have chocolate on your face," he says.

"Where?"

He motions her closer, then licks his thumb and scrubs it off, with her cheek cupped in his hand. It is a totally tender and unselfconscious gesture. She turns her head to kiss the palm of his hand.

"Are you okay?"he asks simply.

She looks straight back into his eyes. "I'm good," she answers.

He smiles gently at her. "Come here," he says, and she slides out of her robe and under the comforter with him. He pushes her hair back from her face, kisses her gently on her eyes and wraps his arms around her. She melts into him.

******************

TBC


	2. Waiting for Results

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 2: ****Waiting for Results**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's

Author's Notes: Companion Episode: Election Night II

The Virginia fourth has been declared, and he's driving back to Washington when he hears the news. His car seems to steer itself onto the bridge, past the Performing Arts Centre and on to Pennsylvania avenue.

She's at her desk staring blankly at the TV coverage, the sound so low she can barely hear it. It's hard enough dealing with the running banners announcing Leo's death at the bottom of the screen. The phone rings in the outer office, causing the light to flash on the phone at her desk, but she doesn't pick it up. A few moments later her blackberry rings. She looks at the call display, and decides to answer.

"Hey"

"I just heard…… You doing okay?"

"Yeah… No… I don't know."

"Who's there?"

"No one…. Well, Kate, Will, Charlie… but not right here….I sent Margaret home…. It just all seems too much."

"You want some company?"

"Danny I can't…"

"You don't have to….Here…. I'll just give the phone to Pete and you can tell him to let me in."

"Where are you?"

"In the lobby."

"Danny… I …"

"C'mon. I'm done. The races I'm dealing with have been called. I'll leave my laptop here if you want."

"No. It's okay. I'll call from my desk. Then he knows it's me."

***********

She's waiting in the hallway, leaning against the wall when he comes around the corner.

"Hey," he says softly.

She looks at him mutely. He brushes her hair back with one hand and pulls her forward into a hug. They stand silently for several minutes before she starts to pull away.

"I can't…" she begins by way of explanation.

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. If we stay like this for any longer I'm going to fall apart, and I can't do that tonight. I'm still waiting for results to take to the President."

He looks at her sadly. "C'mon" he says, "Let's go watch together."

*******************

He's sitting on the floor with his laptop on the coffee table, writing. She's almost asleep in the corner of the sofa. He looks up at the TV and nudges her. "Hey, C.J. They've called the second Maine for Velosky. We've taken back the house."

She opens her eyes. "I'm not asleep. I'm still listening….Hey… did you say we?"

He looks back at her. "I'm pretty sure I said the democrats.."

"Uh uh, Partisan Boy. You said we!" She grins at him, and nudges him with her foot. "So much for journalistic objectivity."

"Well, I'm off the record… and you'd better be too…" he smiles back.

" Hey! They've called Texas for Santos."

They watch in silence for a moment.

"Do you wish you were there?"

"Where? With Josh and Santos? Not at all. It would be excruciating."

"Have you talked to Josh?"

"I talked to Donna."

"How's she doing?"

"Calm. Controlled. Worried."

"How's he doing?"

"I think she's holding him together with both hands." She looks down at him, and realizes his computer is running. "What are you doing?"

He holds both hands in the air. "Nothing about this… Checking some blogs… Working on a memorial, that no one's asked me for yet, but I know they're gonna. Reading the obit."

"It's already done?"

"It's standard procedure. We have them all on file. It was redone when he left the Whitehouse two years ago, then updated when he joined the ticket. They just tweaked it a little."

"Is mine done?"

He meets her eyes and nods briefly. She puts her head in her hands.

"I told you. It's standard procedure. There's one for me too." He pushes himself up onto the sofa beside her and puts his arm around her. "Being a survivor is a terrible burden to bear," he says quietly, as her eyes fill with tears.

"God he was so hard on me. I loved him, but it felt like I could never get it right. He was so exactly like my dad. No matter what, it was never good enough…. But I could never have done these last two years without him… I wouldn't be Josh right now for any price."

"Well that's a relief," he teases gently, "I mean I like Josh and all, but he's not exactly my type..." but she hardly hears.

"I never really understood why he chose me for Chief of Staff. Why not Josh? Or Toby?...well, no.. I know why not Toby. But why not Josh?"

"Bartlett wasn't Josh's guy."

"Yeah he was."

"No. He's a good man, and the real thing, but he was Leo's guy. And Toby's guy...well maybe not. Maybe no one is Toby's guy. He is your guy, alright, but Josh isn't there yet."

"You don't think Matt Santos is Josh's guy?"

"Not really."

"Well then, who is?"

"Not sure yet. But I've known Josh for more than fifteen years….. Josh will find him"

**********

"You want to pack it in? They're not going to call Nevada or Oregon until the bitter end."

"I can't. I have to let the President know… and I'd never be able to sleep anyways."

"Who said anything about sleeping?"

She rolls her eyes at him.

"No. I meant did you need to go home and have shower, change… whatever."

"I have all that stuff here. I'll just stay. You go if you need to though."

He shakes his head. "I'll wait with you."

They sit watching as the results roll in. Oregon goes to Santos, and she can only imagine the tension at Santos headquarters. She sighs and puts her head on his shoulder. He hugs her a little closer.

"Come over to my place tonight."

"Tonight's pretty well done Danny,"

"At the end of the day, I mean."

"I can't Danny. I'll be exhausted."

"We don't have to do anything. Come so you can sleep. Come so we can talk. Come so you won't be alone."

She kisses him gently. "You're sweet."

He starts to kiss her back, but gets distracted by the election coverage. "Hey, they've called Nevada for Santos… Wow… I guess that's the ball game!" He turns back to her and grins. "Josh is going to be insufferable!"

She puts her head back on the sofa and sighs, "I know."


	3. Mutual Cooperation

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 3: Mutual Co-operation**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Post Ep: Requiem

She opens the door and he is once again on her doorstep.

Danny, what are you doing here?

"How about, 'Nice to see you Danny. Why don't you come in?' " He pushes past her into the apartment. "I brought drinks and snacks." He shows her a bottle and a bag of goldfish crackers.

She closes the door. "I told you, we can't do this…..Donna's staying here. Josh is dropping her off"

"Nope. Not tonight." He looks at his watch and right on cue the phone rings, and she answers it. Before she can say anything Josh is talking.

"Hey C.J. Donna's going to stay here tonight. No worries see you later 'kay. Bye"

"Josh?" she says into the silent phone.

***********

"Hope that was the right number" he mutters under his breath.

"Josh?" Donna says, coming into the room with a cup of tea, "Who was that on the phone?"

"Uh C.J." he gulps, "She says she has someone staying over and she asked if you could stay here tonight."

"Josh?"

"I……I said it was no problem." He smiles.

*************

"Danny, what's going on here?"

"Just a little mutual co-operation."

"Did you stage manage this?"

"You'd think, but no. I'm actually just a side beneficiary of this particular strategic plan"

"Who then?"

"I don't reveal sources."

She shoots him a look, but he just smiles.

"Wait. This has Josh written all over it."

"And the light goes on."

"How did Josh know anything about us?"

"Or not…" he shakes his head, "I told you we were just incidental to the plan…."

"Josh and Donna?"

"There ya go!"

"Really? …..Finally? …….How?" She actually giggles, holding her hand up to her mouth.

"Whoa. I just flashed on what you were like in high school."

"I don't think so. I wasn't one of those girls."

"One of what girls?"

"The gossipy ones who giggled together at their lockers."

"What kind of girl were you?"

"The one they giggled about. Kind of quiet. A little bitter. Half a head taller than any boy in my class. Good at academics in a school that championed athletics. I played basketball 'cause, well ,look at me…..Who were you in high school?"

"One of those guys in the back row who threw spitballs at you."

"No, really."

"A.V. geek. Hair down to here," he holds his hand below his shoulder, "Hung out with the drama kids. Thought the only teacher comment possible was 'Not performing up to potential'"

"You were one of those boys suspended in your junior year for smoking cigarettes out behind the gym, weren't you?"

"Well it wasn't cigarettes, and it was my sophomore year." He grins, "Junior year I was suspended for telling the Vice Principal exactly where to go, and what to do when he got there."

She shakes her head, smiling. "How did you even get in to Notre Dame?"

"Aced the SAT's and wrote the best entrance essay they'd seen in twenty years." He drinks some wine, and looks at her over the rim. "Turned out the "potential" comments were accurate. When I really want something I know how to go out and get it."

"Really?"

"Uh huh." He puts his wine down, and reaches out for her, pulling her into a long embrace.


	4. Christmas Present

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 4: Christmas Present**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Between Requiem and Institutional Memory

Reviews: Oh yes... like candy...

It's Christmas Eve and he's in her office offering food to Gail; reaching his fingers into the water for the goldfish to nibble on. He hears her coming through the outer office before he sees her.

"Okay Margaret that's it, we're done, go home."

"There's someone…"

"I'm not dealing with anything else today. I'm going home for a long hot bath," she throws over her shoulder as she enters the office.

"Sounds good to me," he says suggestively.

"Margaret!"

"I tried to tell you…."

She sighs. "Oh never mind Margaret, just go home. Enjoy Christmas with your family"

She looks at him. They are both silent, waiting for Margaret to leave. He pushes the door closed.

"You don't think she suspects anything do you?" she asks.

"Oh no. Of course not. No one knows a thing. I mean that's why Steve and Katie have both called me every day this week to ask what's new. That's why Chris asked me to coffee yesterday and casually asked why I wasn't doing any White House stuff."

"Are you serious?"

"Hey. It doesn't matter. There's only a month left. It's Christmas, then New Years, they've got no time 'til January, and really everyone's more interested in Santos. I can hold 'em off."

"You think?"

"Well no, but if you're willing to believe me I have a very good deal on the Washington monument." He smiles at her. "I actually came by for a reason."

She takes a step towards him. "And what would that be?"

"You know how I said you and Josh and Donna should come for dinner about five tomorrow?"

"Mm hmm."

"I was wondering if you could come by a little earlier"

"Sure, when?"

"I was thinking now."

"Danny, I….."

"And I'm on kind of a short timeline here, because there's a lasagna in the oven that will be done in…" he looks at his watch " about 50 minutes, so if we can just skip over the fifteen minutes of discussion where you outline all the reasons you can't come and I counter each argument with a reasonable suggestion of why that makes no sense so we can get to the you saying yes part and us going to your apartment to pick stuff up so we can get to my place in time to take it out of the oven before the smoke alarm goes off that would be good"

"Okay"

"Because we just don't… what?"

"I said okay"

"Really? Well let's go then."

*******************

He's sitting at the kitchen table in her apartment with a glass of scotch. She's in her bedroom packing.

"You know one really good thing about dating Chief of Staff" he calls to her.

"We're not dating"

"Okay. Sleeping with the Chief of Staff"

"Danny …."

"Well what do you want me to call it?"

She sticks her head out of her bedroom to look at him. "We're not talking about this now."

"Right."

She goes back to continue packing.

"Anyways the benefits of… whatever this is...'

"Danny…"

"You never have to worry about a designated driver"

"Are we dressing for dinner tomorrow?"

Well Josh and Donna are coming, so I'm thinking yeah, we should be dressed."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't know…whatever you like."

"I'll bring something."

"Bring something you can wear to mass"

"What?"

"For tomorrow. Bring something you can wear to mass. We'll probably go to the cathedral."

"Danny, you go to mass?"

"Only on Christmas and high holy days"

"You're serious."

"CJ my last name is Concannon, I went to parochial school, then Notre Dame. You figure it out"

"I haven't been to mass for about a million years."

"Yeah, well I go once a year whether I need to or not. But it's okay… I don't go to confession, so you're safe……Anyways if I don't go tomorrow then I'll have to lie to my mother when she calls, and she can always tell. So I'm going anyway, and you're welcome to come along"

"I don't know…"

"You've been seen in public with me before," he teases.

"Well it's not just that…the cathedral tomorrow is probably too hard for the secret service…"

"Well, we can ask them, we'll see...."

"I'm just going to make a phone call, and then we can go."

"You can phone from my place."

"No, I need to do it from here. There's an incoming restriction on the line."

He can hear her through the half open door.

"Hi Dad. It's Claudia. ……..No Daddy I'm not, I'm in Washington. .…………I don't really need anything, I just wanted to talk to you…..Well it's Friday Daddy and I usually call you………..No Daddy it's Claudia………well I'm not usually on TV anymore Daddy I don't have that job anymore……no Daddy they didn't I'm still here at the Whitehouse…….Did Paul come to see you today Daddy? Paul and Hogan?.......Are you sure Dad, he said he was going to. Hogan's there this weekend……Paul's daughter Daddy, Hogan. ………. No, Dad this is Claudia……No I won't be there this weekend Daddy I need to stay in Washington. I can come in a week Dad…. No Daddy, its Claudia……. No I was just calling to see how you are…….Daddy, I have to go now, I'm going over to a friend's house……….. No, we won't. You can call me on my cell if you need me dad. I'll see you next week Daddy. Goodbye"

There is a long silence. He goes into the bedroom and she's sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. He sits down beside her, and puts an arm around her.

"I'm just about ready," she says, but her voice is trembling.

He puts his other arm around her and hugs her close. Tears are streaming silently down her face. He strokes her hair. "He doesn't know it's Christmas," she says sadly. "Half the time he doesn't even know it's me. …..Last time I was there he thought I was my mother, and he spent the whole weekend mad at me for not letting him come home and see the kids"

He says nothing, because there's nothing to say. He just holds her and rubs her back gently. She looks at him damply, "He told me not to stay up too late talking to my friend."

"Not a problem. I wasn't thinking about talking much anyways" That earns him a watery smile. He looks at his watch."We've got about fifteen minutes to lasagna incineration… shall we?"

"Okay. I'm okay" she says as if to reassure herself.

********************

He wakes up and finds the bed empty. His robe is missing so he pulls on a pair of sweatpants and wanders out to the living room. She's standing at the window with a glass in her hand, staring out at into the night. He walks up behind her, puts his arms around her and looks over her shoulder at the moon shining through the window.

"Is that scotch?"

"I couldn't sleep," she says, "It was easier that warm milk."

He takes the glass from her and takes a drink. "How're ya doin'?" he says gently.

"You know it's hereditary."

"What is?"

"Alzheimer's"

"Not always."

"Often"

"It doesn't matter"

"Yes it does."

He puts the drink down on the windowsill and turns her around, his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes are full of despair. "Not to me," he says quietly. He kisses her and she tastes like warm scotch. She hugs him. "Come back to bed." She shakes her head. "Then come sit down." He leads her over to the couch, hands her the scotch and goes to pour himself one. He grabs a blanket from the closet and drapes it around his shoulders. He sits down and gestures her over. "Come here." She curls up against him and he wraps the blanket around them both. He rubs her arm comfortingly.

"Talk to me," she says, "Tell me about something… anything…something so I don't think."

He takes a drink. He talks in the quiet voice that he uses to put his nieces and nephews to sleep. He tells her about waiting up for Santa with his sister Meg. How they vowed to keep each other awake. How every year despite their best efforts they'd fall asleep, and be wakened by their older siblings' cries of "Get up Get up you guys, Santa came." He feels her relaxing into sleep. He wonders how long it will take her to forgive him for being there.

***********

He wakes up to her hands moving over his chest. There's daylight coming in through the window. He's not sure whether she is driven by distraction, gratitude or passion. Then she kisses him on the mouth, and does something with her hands that wipes every analytical thought from his mind.

They end up on the floor, where there's more space and more resistance, tangled in the blanket. He leans up on one elbow and looks over at her, smiling. "My mother's going to ask me what I did this morning. Now what am I going to say?"

"Tell her you were making pancakes."

He runs his hand down over her breast, along her belly to her hip. "Yeah, well I think I'll get up and do that right now…. I can probably get away with the sin of omission."

***********

He's sitting at the kitchen island with a glass of wine in one hand and the phone in the other. "Hi who's this?....... Hey Conner it's Uncle Danny, Merry Christmas…….Yeah?.......That sounds great buddy………Uh huh….Conner can you pass the phone off to someone else and go tell Grandma I'm on the phone……Thanks buddy. Who's this? Hey Sophie, how's Christmas so far?......It's Uncle Danny sweetheart……. Uh huh….no honey… don't put the phone down, just pass it to …..damn" he looks over at C.J ."She just put it down and walked away…I can still hear the pandemonium…Oh hey….Meg is that you? Connor's supposed to be getting mom for me and Sophie just ….. Yeah well it just didn't work for me this year,… maybe next year…….Who all is there? ….. I thought Callum and his family were coming….. Oh. Right………is what true?.... I wish you wouldn't read that internet crap Meg… it's just gossip….Is mom there yet?...Well did that little spawn of Satan you call your son actually go and get her, or is he playing video games again? Yeah, that's what I thought….." he smiles at CJ who's choking on her wine. "You okay?" he mouths. She nods, holding up one hand as she coughs. "Yeah Meg….You are? That's great how come? ….Do you need a place to stay? You know I have room….Jeff coming too, or just you?..... Why don't you email me the dates, that way I'll put it in my calendar, we can at least have dinner or something….Are you actually delivering a paper, or just attending the conference?... cool I'll… oh okay ….Hi mom, Merry Christmas…. Yeah I know, maybe next year. …Sounds like the kids are having a great time though…..Of course I did. Actually it was midnight mass last night, but that counts as today, doesn't it?.... St Anselm's Abby ….it's kind of smaller, not so crowded…….Benedictine. mmhmm. ….. Oh just hung around the apartment" he's desperately trying not to catch CJ's eye, but she's not making it easy. She moves in closer. "Had breakfast, listened to music…….No, I'm having friends over for dinner…. No I don't think you do……...Well sounds like you're needed back there Mom…..Give my love to everyone……... I miss you too Mom….bye"

"You, yourself are a child of Satan" he says to her.

She looks at him, wide eyed and innocent. "Why what could you possibly mean?"

"Hands to yourself, when someone is on the phone!"

She smiles at him seductively. "And what internet crap is your sister not supposed to read?"

He's caught. "There's a teaser on one of the blogs."

"About us?"

"About us."

"Oh great. That's just what we need."

"It's nothing."

"It won't be for long"

"There's too much stuff going on for anyone to pay attention to it. It was Friday yesterday. It's the Christmas weekend….it has no legs"

"We went to midnight mass together!"

"Did you see any press?"

"It doesn't matter if we saw them or not…..oh god…. is the limousine out front?"

"Relax Beautiful…. I told them they could garage it. Stop freaking out."

"Too late for that now, isn't it? "

The phone rings, Danny picks it up.

"Hello. Oh, hi Meg. Weren't we just speaking? ……Well yes I will I'm sure that's just what she needs... Oh yeah." He's grinning, "Okay. … You know you are a real pain in the……If you do I'll tell her about you and Andy Jacobson in 10th grade, so just keep that in mind Maggot…… Yeah, I love you too. See you in a couple of weeks." He looks up at her. "My sister says Merry Christmas, and she's glad you're here." He smiles guiltily.

"How does she know I'm here?"

"She heard you cough. She read the blogs. She listened to my voice…..She's a good guesser, and she just goes with her instincts." He glances at her, "It's kind of a family thing."

"Oh good, so your sister in Lansing can figure it out, and Steve, Katie and Chris won't?"

"Oh C.J.! Who cares?"

"Well I know it's never mattered for you…" she turns to walk away.

He grabs her by the hand. "Hey! You are what matters for me. I don't care about the rest of it, and neither should you anymore. There's no reason that this needs to be secret, but it's also no one's business but ours….. You know that."

She pulls her hand away. "I have to go."

"Wow! This fight or flight thing is really strong for you, isn't it." He says bitterly.

She turns around angrily. "What do you mean?"

"I mean you'll do whatever it takes to avoid actually talking about what's going on for you."

"That's not true!"

"I think we both know that it is… Look, we don't have to talk about the future right now if you don't want. We can save that until after the inauguration. But this…" he gestures with his hand, "Now, this is easy. In fact I had this ready for yesterday, so sit down and we'll go through it." There is a moment. They both stand staring at each other. He raises one eyebrow and gestures at one of the stools at the kitchen island. Slowly she sits down, and he sits across from her.

"Did Leo have a relationship when he was Chief of Staff?"

"Well, he was married."

"At first, yeah…."

"Well Jordan….. Annabeth…. But that was later really."

"Ever have to make a statement to the press?"

"No. But they weren't a conflict of interest."

"Well, technically neither am I at this point, and I think there's an argument to made about Jordan, but let me use another example. How about Josh and Amy…. Political operatives. Any compromising?"

"I don't know Danny! It didn't really come up."

"That's my point!"

"You weren't here for the witch hunt when they decided I was a lesbian."

"What did you say?" He knows the answer.

"No comment. That it was none of their business."

"There ya go!" They sit looking at one another. "So here's the final question. If….. and I think it's a big if…there's someone out there watching, what's the bigger story….You leaving now…. Or later… with Donna and Josh… or even tomorrow morning…. Besides.. and here's the real kicker… I actually think if there's anyone really interested in the romantic intrigue going on.."

"Is that what this is? Romantic intrigue. Wow! Who knew?"

He pushes on. "In the romantic intrigue going on at the Whitehouse that Josh and Donna are a way bigger story." She is silent, but he can feel the tension dropping. He smiles. "You want to take a minute? You go sit in the living room and think. I'm going to start getting dinner ready."

"You're giving me a time out?"

He grins at her. "Whatever you want to call it, baby."

She reaches across the counter and cuffs him. He writes on an imaginary document, "Does not play well with others."

She shoots him a look, then picks up her wine glass and walks out to the living room.

He silently lets out a long breath and closes his eyes.

"Put some music on, will you?" he calls after her.

*************

He comes up behind the sofa and puts his hands on her shoulders. She leans her head back to look at him and he slides his hands down over her breasts.

"So does the fact that you didn't leave with Josh and Donna mean you're staying here tonight, or do we need to call the guys and get your car?" He smiles down at her.

She reaches up to trap his exploring hands. "It's against my better judgment, but I'll stay."

"You have no better judgment," he teases. "You're all about desire, baby…. Owww! Let go! I didn't mean it!" She releases his hair. He slides around the end of the sofa, and wraps his arms around her and kisses her until she starts to get that deep unfocussed look in her eyes that he loves. His tongue is in her mouth and she moans in the back of her throat. He kisses down along her jaw line to her ear and whispers "I did mean it. You are so all about desire."

"And you're not?" she asks softly.

"Uh uh. I'm a guy" she can feel his smile, warm against her skin, "I'm all about gratification."


	5. What Else?

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 5: What Else?**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Post Ep. Institutional Memory

"What else?"

"They're starting to pack the office."

"And it's upsetting you."

"It's driving me crazy. There're things I still need. We're not done yet."

"Why don't you take off your coat? I'll get you a drink" He heads into the kitchen and pours her a glass of wine. "Where's Hollis Headquarters?"

"Culver City, but I don't think it really matters. The foundation isn't really formed… I don't think he'd care if I wanted to set it up in DC, but…"

"You'd rather not?"

"Well I kind of like the idea of going home."

"You want to move to Dayton?"

She smiles at his dismay. "No… California."

"Hmm. California's interesting. I like the idea of California. Sun… sand…pretty women in bikinis." He hands her the wine glass and sits down on the couch.

"Are you sure? What would you do in California?"

"Lie on the beach. Watch the women in bikinis play some volleyball. I like sports."

"No… really…"

"I'm a writer C.J. I can be anywhere. Just now, California sounds good."

"They'd give you an assignment in L.A.? You hate all that stuff!" She sits down beside him.

"No. I'm a writer. I was serious when I said I didn't want to be a reporter anymore. It wasn't just about us, or you. It's about me. I've got a couple of interesting book deals…."

"Really? That's great."

"Mmm hmmm. Random House even wants a novel, but I don't know … fiction? It's kind of scary…. I've always been a 'just the facts ma'am' kind of guy."

"Oh I don't know…. I think you've got that starry eyed dreamer of fiction quality."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She snuggles closer to him, and he wraps an arm around her. "You're pretty good at telling me stories."

"You're better at making things up."

"Hey!" she mock swats him on his chest.

"Oww" Then he grabs her hand and imprisons it there. "Let me tell you a story. About the smartest funniest girl in Dayton, Ohio who grew up to be a beautiful princess"

"See! You are good at fiction..."

"and walked with Kings and Queens and presidents"

"don't forget jesters..."

"Don't get ahead of me… and then she met the most amazing, witty, intelligent, handsome man…"

"mmhmmm?"

"And somehow they seemed to be connected by bungee cords… or elastics… because every time they pushed away from each other they always came back together."

"And how does this epic end?"

"Oh that's easy. They fall in love and move to California."

She looks up at him. "And live happily ever after?"

"Absolutely," he bends his head and kisses her.

"I should really go"

"No, you should stay here with me."

"Hey! Weren't you the guy who said 'I want you to do what you want to do' just a few minutes ago?"

"You're going to tell me you _want_ to go?"

She shakes her head slowly, no.

"See you're getting better at this already."

He gets up and pulls her to her feet. "Come on… We'll set an early alarm. You can go by your apartment in the morning….. You want me to talk to the guys?"

"Okay"

She heads toward the bedroom, while he leans out the door of the apartment into the hall. "Hey Rob… Greg… We're in for the night…. Looking at 5:00 am."

"Thank-you sir."

************

The alarm rings. The clock says 4:30. He moans.

"You don't have to get up."

"It's okay. You have a shower. I'll make coffee. You need caffeine, and I can sleep later." He kisses her briefly, then pulls on a t-shirt and jeans, runs his hand through his hair, and heads out to the kitchen. He leans against the counter as the coffee drips, listening to the shower.

He wanders over to the stereo and flips it on.

The Beatles, "All you need is love", starts playing.

_Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love._

_There's nothing you can do that can't be done._

_Nothing you can sing that can't be sung._

_Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game_

_It's easy._

She laughs and calls from the bathroom, "Danny, don't you own anything but the Beatles?"

"Sure I do." He pauses. "I just don't really play anything else." He grins. "What can I say, I'm a child of my time"

_There's nothing you can make that can't be made._

_No one you can save that can't be saved._

_Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time_

_It's easy._

She comes out of the bathroom, dressed in his robe, toweling her hair, and it's almost too much for him. He hands her the red mug full of coffee and looks down at the floor.

"So I have this idea" he starts.

"Mmmhmm?"

"I'm thinking that after the inauguration we should take some time. Two weeks maybe. You know. You. Me. Sunshine. California. No politics. Just some time….."

She's getting dressed. "I can probably take more than two weeks." It's punishment to watch her, but he does it anyways.

_All you need is love, all you need is love,_

_All you need is love, love, love is all you need._

"Well, we can play it by ear. I thought two weeks was a good start. I mean, after two weeks of not working you'd probably be ready to eat your own young…."

She looks at him.

"Not that you have any young…."

Still no help is coming his way.

"Or that we're even interested in that discussion…"

There is steel in her gaze.

"Look, this hole I'm in just keeps getting deeper and deeper…Do you think you could help me out here?"

She wraps her arms around him and kisses him deeply.

He takes a breath. "You know when you do that my mind goes completely blank, don't you?"

She smiles. "Yeah, and it's kind of fun to watch."

_There's nothing you can know that isn't known._

_Nothing you can see that isn't shown._

_Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be._

_It's easy._

"You're leaving now aren't you?"

She nods. He sighs.

She starts collecting her stuff.

"Are you going to talk to Hollis today?'

"Mmmhmm. And Santos."

"Coming back here tonight?" he says hopefully.

"I'll be late."

"I'll be up."

He reaches out for her and kisses her, and then she's gone.

Later, when he's washing his face he sees her toothbrush and makeup still sitting on the sink. It makes him smile for most of the morning.


	6. A Delegation of One

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 6: A Delegation of One**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Between Institutional Memory and Tomorrow

It's past eleven o'clock. He's at his computer with a cup of tea beside him, when the secret service knocks. She waits silently in the hall with a gym bag on the floor beside her.

As Greg leaves the apartment Danny reaches out, grabs the bag by its strap and hauls it into the apartment.

"What did you bring….. Your rock collection?"

She grins. "Yeah. I'll show it to you later, and talk you through it sample by sample."

"Sounds riveting. I can hardly wait." He makes it sound suggestive. "You want some tea?"

"You're drinking tea?"

He is slightly defensive. "Yeah. You want some or not."

"Sure"

Sitting at the counter in the kitchen, he pours her a cup of tea. She sniffs. "What is this?"

"Wild orange and linden flower. Drink it. It'll help you sleep."

She wrinkles her nose but tastes it anyway. "Hey. It's not bad.

He holds his mug up in a silent toast. "How'd your day go?"

"Mmmm. Not bad." The question is in his eyes, and she knows what he wants to ask. "Yes I talked to Josh. Yes I talked to Hollis."

He waits.

"I said no to Josh. Several times. I imagine I'll say no several more times." She pauses. He waits. "I said yes to Hollis."

He smiles. "Do you feel good about it?"

"Yeah. I do. I really do."

"When?"

"Well, he's saying the beginning of March." She makes him ask.

"Where?"

"Culver City. Well anywhere in greater LA really."

He grins.

"I just don't know how to get it all together and be out there ready to start by the first of March. Not and take two weeks off."

He stops smiling. "You're not serious?"

"I am… I've got to move…find somewhere to live… sort out what to do with my apartment… have my car shipped…. And I don't even have time to start until we're out of office."

"You could try delegating."

"I delegate what I can, but this isn't Margaret's job, or even Carol's. It's mine."

"I meant to me. Delegate it to me."

"Danny…"

"What? You don't think I'm capable?"

"It's not that.. its…"

"Then what?"

"It's not your job either."

"It can be. I have a vested interest and I want this two weeks CJ. For us. I think it's important. It's not like I don't have the time right now. I've got a couple of projects on the go, but no one owns me right now… Well, except you."

"I don't own you!"

He reaches across and strokes her cheek. "Sweetheart, you've owned me for years."

She is silent for a moment before she says, "You'll really do this?"

"They're my two weeks?"

"They're our two weeks."

"And if I can figure out a way to get more?"

"I'll take it."

"So how much latitude do I have?"

"What do you mean?"

"How much do you want to know?"

She smiles. "When am I leaving? Where am I living?"

He grins back. "Okay, but you ain't gonna know what hit you baby"

She laughs.

"I'm serious." He says, "I can do this kind of thing in my sleep."

She yawns. "Speaking of sleep…."

"Go ahead. I'll be right there. I've got a couple of more paragraphs to write then I'll shut the computer down."

By the time he comes in she's fast asleep. He crawls into bed and spoons in behind her, wrapping his arm around her. He breathes in the smell of her hair, warm and sweet. She mumbles in her sleep, folds his hand in between hers and settles back to sleep again. He can't think of anything that would have made him feel more secure.


	7. Telling Meg

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 7: ****Telling Meg**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's except Meg  
Author's Notes: Takes Place between Institutional Memory and Tomorrow

Reviews?--- You betcha!

His sister Meg laughs so hard he thinks her drink is going to come out her nose.

"Danny boy!"

"Don't call me that" he warns.

"You can't even have a midlife crisis properly!" She's laughing so much people in the restaurant are turning to look at them. "What you're supposed to do is have an affair with a younger woman, buy a motorcycle, dump your nine to five job…… not get married, buy a house, and look for something more stable."

He grins and swirls the ice cubes in his drink, "Yeah, well when you put it that way…."

She's still laughing.

"But Meg, I did all that stuff already…and I didn't exactly say get married… and I'm not sure writing books is more stable"

"Hey! You said maybe teach, and at your age if you're going to move all the way across the country with her you'd better be that committed"

"Boy you play that age card whenever you like, but you sure don't like it when I play it… eighteen months is nothing junior."

"Yeah, well I'm not shifting _my___whole life around."

"Yeah, well…." He runs his finger around the rim of his glass. " You think Mom's going to have a heart attack?"

"When are you going to tell her?"

"Soon…. I guess."

"She's not going to have a heart attack Danny. You are the golden boy. You could show up in the middle of the night and give her a handful of elephant dung and she'd phone me the next morning to say you came by special and gave her a present."

He laughs. "You're so full of it."

"No it's true Danny. You'll never do anything wrong for her."

"That's true for all of us though, isn't it?"

"Yeah... just truer for some of us."

He looks at her. "Oh God Meg, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. We're all adults now. It's just the way it is…..So you know she'll either hate CJ's guts, or she'll be the golden girl."

"Either Delilah or the Virgin Mary… there's nothing in between?"

"The only thing you'll know for sure is that any children you have will be perfect, clever, and beautiful, either because of, or in spite of…"

"Well, I'd say that scenario is pretty unlikely."

"Just giving you a heads up." She holds up her empty glass, "Should I order another drink? How long do you think she'll be?"

"Well, she said 8:00 but that means about 9:00, and she's probably going to be all wound up anyways… she's got an intelligence review. So I wouldn't get too far ahead."

"You don't need to worry you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you too well. If you love her I'm going to like her. "

"Yeah… it's more the other way around…"

She laughs. "Well if she can put up with you she'll think I'm a breath of fresh air"

He reaches good naturedly across the table to try to slap her but she ducks.

******************

The two women are laughing together. It's like they've known each other for years. His head is in his hands on the table. His ears or what can be seen of them are bright red. "I think I liked this conversation better before it turned into let's embarrass Danny time," he says.

CJ reaches over and runs her hand through his hair comfortingly. "Oh come on! I was going to find this stuff out anyway!"

"This was a bad idea."

"We're having fun," says Meg.

He sighs and looks up at her. "Did I do this with Jeff when I first met him?"

Her eyes glitter. "It was Thanksgiving. You and Callum both took him out__ without me I might add__ and told him everything. Got him so spectacularly drunk that he threw up on the front lawn when you brought him home. It was years before mom stopped asking me how he was handling his drinking problem."

Danny grins. "Oh Yeah. We did."

*******

"What was that girl's name that you brought home for Christmas that year Danny?"

He doesn't like where this is going. "I don't really remember."

"Sure you do. Short dark curly hair. Maisie?"

He puts his head down. "It wasn't Maisie. Please don't do this Meg." It's too late. She's already figured it out.

"Mandy." Says CJ dryly.

Meg realizes too late. "Oops. Sorry."

C.J. looks at him. "That was the college graduate," she says, as if everything is clearer now.

Danny stands up. "It's late we should go."

Meg tries to help him out. "Yeah. I've got a presentation in the morning, but this was fun . CJ, I really enjoyed meeting you." She glances at Danny, then takes CJ by both hands, kisses her on the cheek and says quietly, "Don't be too hard on him. She was a real piece of work." She kisses Danny on the cheek. Looks him straight in the eye and says, "Madonna, no two ways about it. You should call Mom, because she'll grill me and you know it's better coming from you."

He sighs. "Thanks Meg. See you tomorrow?"

"You're driving me to the airport?"

"Yep. I'll call you." And Meg is gone.

************

He looks at her trying to judge the thickness of the ice.

"I think," she says slowly, "I'm going to go to my apartment tonight."

"I think," he says in the same tones, "I'm coming with you." He's waiting for her to say no, but she doesn't say anything. Given the circumstances it feels like a tiny victory.

There is a long silence as they walk out to the car.

"I like your sister."

"I thought you might."

"Right now I'm liking her better than I like you."

He sighs. "Yeah. I know. In my defense..."

"Don't." she says.

"Right."

They're inside her apartment before she speaks again.

"Why?" she asks.

He looks at the ground. "Cause you said no. In fact you said no pretty clearly."

"You're not blaming this on me!"

"I'm not blaming anyone 'cause I don't see any blame. It's just how things happen."

"There's no responsibility?"

"I didn't say that. C'mon CJ I'm sure you've had relationships you regret."

The color drains from her face. "Tell me that was just a shot in the dark."

He raises both hands. "Woah! I'm not sure what nerve I just hit, but listen to me. We're both adults. It's not reasonable to think that either of us haven't had relationships before. Maybe some pretty serious relationships. In fact, come to think of it, we'd better have had some pretty serious relationships or we're both in trouble. I already told you that I'm never sure I'm doing something right until I've finished doing it wrong. I've done it wrong a couple of times now. I just want to do this right. I don't care what happened before. I care what's going to happen next."

She walks over to him and he folds her in his arms. She puts her head down on his shoulder. "I wanted to be so mad at you."

"Yeah. I know."

"I had a bad flashback."

"I kind of saw that. Did you want to talk about it?"

She shakes her head. "Not now."

"That's okay," he kisses her gently. "There's probably been enough talking for one night anyways

TBC


	8. Moving Conversations

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter 8: ****Moving Conversations**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Takes Place between Institutional Memory and Tomorrow

Reviews—absolutely, please and thankyou

"I have a plan."

"Is it a cunning plan?"

"Yes, but it does not involve any turnips."

She laughs. "Hey! How do you know that?"

"I'm a big British comedy fan. Check out the DVDs _____ Black Adder, Monty Python, Fry and Laurie, Red Dwarf, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. As a kid I used to listen to reruns of the Goon Show."

"Okay, You lost me after Monty Python, although I picked up on Dudley Moore. What's your plan?"

"Here's the basics. You're going to sublet your apartment. We're keeping mine for the time being, 'cause it's smaller, and I own it outright, so we can afford it. We're going to California for two weeks… maybe three… hang around, enjoy the sun and look at places to live. Then we're coming back here for a week or so to pack and tie up loose ends… and then we're gone."

She looks at him. "Where am I living, when am I leaving?"

He smiles and kisses her. "With me. On January 21st."

****************

She's in the corner of the sofa with her feet tucked up reading a briefing report. He's leaning against her, almost in her lap, stretched out over the rest of the sofa, flipping through National Geographic.

"You know there's just so little actual writing in these….."

"Donna's going to take Gail. I couldn't figure out what else to do. She wouldn't survive the trip to LA."

He looks up at her. "CJ, she didn't survive your Whitehouse__What is she… Gail the fifth?"

"Gail the third actually." She says haughtily. "How did you know?"

"You think I'm an idiot don't you." There is a silence. "It made me sure you really liked me. She always gave me a reason to be in your office."

"That was part of it. She reminded me of you when you were gone. People would come by to see her. We had lots of fun with bowl decorations. Sometimes things would show up in her bowl and I'd have no idea where they came from. She was our mascot. Toby used to talk about her as a symbol for us all… exposed and trapped all at the same time. I'll miss talking to her."

"You can talk to me"

"She never talked back"

"Ah. Right. In that case we can get another fish."

******************

"What's tomorrow like Margaret?"

"You have a meeting with Treasury at 9:00, a follow up with Kate Harper at 10:00 and you're at your apartment at noon."

"My apartment?"

"That's what it says here."

"What for?"

"Danny phoned and booked it. It says 'packing'."

"Oh God."

*****************

He's on the phone with Jim MacIntyre in Long Beach when he hears the brief knock, and then the key in the lock as Greg from her secret service detail comes in to check the apartment. He gives Greg a thumbs up and the younger man rolls his eyes back towards the door.

"I don't know Jim, I'm out there on the 21st anyways… can't it just wait until….Oh… I see. Well, let me see what I can do. It's kind of short notice, and I've got kind of a lot of stuff going on. Yeah, well if you think we can do it in that length of time…. Perhaps we could meet in Seattle and go from there." He sees CJ and knows there is something wrong. "I'll call you back tomorrow Jim. I've got to go." He hangs up. "Hey" he says quietly. She looks at him. The anger in her eyes is white hot, and while he's trying to figure out if it's him she's furious with, he walks to the kitchen and pours her a glass of wine, and even though he'd rather drink scotch, he pours one for himself because he has a feeling that the sooner the alcohol goes down the better. He hands it to her without saying anything because he's learning not to fan the flames. She's still standing when he sits down on the sofa.

"I sometimes think," she says in measured tones, "that men should be lined up and shot."

"Men in general?" he says calmly, "or certain men in particular?"

There is a long pause and he resists the urge to fill it.

She glances at him. "Men in uniform in particular."

"So not me then."

"Not right now, no."

He smiles. Just a little. And he tries not to let her see it. "Do you want to sit down?"

"I'd like to break a few things first!" she says darkly.

"Can't help you there."

He drinks his wine and waits. Eventually she comes over and sits on the opposite end of the sofa. "I don't know how Kate Harper can stand it." She says into the silence. She swallows what's left of the wine in her glass, and instead of replying he gets up and refills it for her. He sits back down patiently. "I wish it had been Leo in the room."

"Joint Chiefs of Staff?"

"Miles Hutchison. He's a pompous, misogynistic, self righteous, moronic, son of a bitch who doesn't get us the information accurately, and god knows if it was possible to fire him it would have been done long ago. He makes it so very clear that he has nothing but contempt for anyone who has never been in uniform, but he has a particular distain for women in general and me in particular."

"Want me to take him out for you? I know some guys. I could make a few phone calls."

She looks at him and starts to laugh.

"How many more days?"

"Five" he says with a smile.

"I guess I can survive that long," she says.

He slides across the sofa to put an arm around her. "And for extra delight, "he says "you can spend time imagining just exactly how well he and Josh are going to get along."

She smiles back at him. "It's almost worth sticking around to see it," she teases.

"No," he says firmly, "No it's not."

****************

"I've got good news and I've got bad news. I need to make a change in plans. Can you survive without me for the last three days, and I'll meet you in LA on the 21st? I've got a National Geographic thing to do with Jim on 'Slugs of the Pacific Northwest.'"

She laughs. "You're kidding, right? Slugs of the Pacific Northwest?"

"They're apparently hugely photogenic."

"They'd have to be… You're not making this up?"

"I wish I was."

"So you're bailing on the last three days of the administration?"

"Looks that way, yeah."

"For slugs of the Pacific Northwest?"

"You've got to appreciate the irony."

"So was that the good news or the bad news?"

He looks at her for a moment. "Jim MacIntyre says we can have his condo in Long Beach for two weeks, because he's going to Ecuador. All we have to do is feed the cat."

"This is good."

"It's great. If you like cats… I can always say no if you'd rather be in a hotel."

"Nope. Cats are usually fine, and I hate hotels. I'd rather just be in our own place, but you're right …. This will give us time to look."

"So back to the first question. Can you survive without me for three days?"

"Danny, I've managed so far…" she looks at him, "You're afraid I'll say yes to Josh if you're not here."

He's about to make a clever remark when he hears himself say, "No, I'm afraid that this isn't real, and you won't show up." And then there is absolute silence, and more than anything he wants to take those words back, but he knows it's true.

And because there are no words, no platitudes of reassurance that she can offer she pulls him to her and hugs him close, putting her head on his shoulder, and breathing softly into his neck until she feels the tension in his body start to drain away.

*****************

"Okay, we have a system here. Anything you want in the next three weeks we're packing into these two suitcases. Anything you want to ship to California for the beginning of March use these red dots. Anything you want to put in storage use a green dot. Anything you just want to get rid of gets a yellow dot. We're starting on your bedroom with the clothes you're going to need for the next three weeks. You put them on the bed, I'll pack."

"Are you serious?"

"You've got about an hour tops, and then we're moving on to other stuff. The Mayflower guys are here at 3:00 pm."

"So are you crazy for me, or are you just plain crazy"

"Both. But we don't have time for that right now."

"I'm going to hate this."

"Yup, but when we're done I'm hoping you'll be eternally grateful.

**************

"Hey! How come you put a yellow sticker on my stereo?"

He looks at her. "C.J. It must be at least five years old."

"I bought it when I moved here."

"There ya go."

"Well there's nothing wrong with it."

"Yeah... I think we'll be buying a new system in California. This just isn't going to be a discussion."

"Oh my god! You are a stereo snob!"

"Oh no I am a technology and electronics snob. Better get used to it."

"Okay Geekboy, can I keep my TV?"

He shakes his head. "Nope!"

She rolls her eyes.

"Come on!" he says "It's not a flat screen, it's only a 3:4 ratio, and it won't support hi def"

She moves towards him. "You know it's kind of hot when you start talking like that!"

"This is like a foreign language for you isn't babe. Wow! Wait till we start talking about computers… megabytes, ram, software, virtual memory…" She starts to kiss him and her blackberry rings.

"Hey Greg… sure, send him up."

She looks over at Danny. "It's Sam."

She opens the door, and there's Sam with a pizza box.

"Hey Sparky! Did you come to help, or is that lunch?"

Well, it's lunch and I thought we were signing lease papers."

She turns to Danny. "I'm subletting to Sam?"

"Seemed like a good idea."

"It's a great idea. Why didn't you tell me?"

He holds up two fingers. "And I quote....'When am I leaving, where am I living'.... Besides, this was more fun," his smile is wide and sunny. "There's beer in the fridge… I brought it over yesterday."

TBC


	9. The Last Reception

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter ****9****: ****The Last Reception of the Bartlet Administration.**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Takes Place between Institutional Memory and Tomorrow

A/N This was the chapter that started me on the whole story.

The door to the apartment opens and a secret service agent enters. They wait in the hall. Danny has his over coat slung over his shoulder.

"All clear"

"Thank you,'

Inside he helps her off with her coat, kissing her neck and shoulder.

"Have I told you tonight how beautiful you are?"

"Only about eighteen times…. Can you unzip me?"

"Leave it on for a bit why don't you."

"You really like this dress don't you."

"I really like what's in the dress."

"You're sweet," she turns and kisses him lightly.

"Do you want a drink?"

"mmm okay… I'm taking off my shoes, though… " She kicks them off, then reaches up , pulls the pins out her hair, and shakes her head so it tumbles around her shoulders. She collapses onto the couch, her dress billowing around her like a dark cloud.

He brings her a glass of wine, offering it on one knee like a medieval page.

She laughs and takes it from him.

He's back in the kitchen pouring himself a scotch before she asks, "What's up with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you seem kind of… giddy, for lack of a better word"

He saunters back over to her, swirling the ice and scotch in his glass. "Hmmm… giddy.. that's a high school-ish kind of word… maybe it's true. I feel kind of high school-ish… kind of… you know… high. Where everything seems really great."

"You've been smiling like a Cheshire Cat all evening. What's up?"

He gives her a naughty look.

She laughs, "No, really. Your turn to talk"

"mmm…I'm not sure I'm ready to share this… it could get me in big trouble…" he's still smiling broadly.

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "More trouble than adding that scotch to the champagne you were drinking earlier? Come on! It's sharing time class…" She pats the couch beside her.

He takes a swallow of scotch, and sits down. He leans back against the cushions.

"So for the first time I'm at one of these things_"

"You've been to lots of these"

He holds up one hand. "Hear me out… For the first time I'm watching you…"

"I noticed"

"Well, I've always watched you," he smiles.

"And I've always noticed….."

"Yeah, but this time… when you walk past a group of people and all the guys turn and watch_"

"They do not!"

"Oh yes they do!"

"They don't!"

Oh yes…. They do….. Anyway, for the first time I didn't care."

"What do you mean?"

"'Cause I read ahead. I knew the ending. You and me. Here. My girl. My house. My bed." He takes another drink trying to gauge her reaction. "See that's possibly the part that's going to get me into trouble."

"You're so right!" there is an edge in her voice and he knows he needs to try and reclaim this. "Let me see if I can put another spin on it…"

She cuffs him lightly. "You're not the spin master around here writer boy!"

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure you'd spin it in the right direction, so give me a chance"

"Okay, go ahead" she's enjoying this now.

"What were you thinking about?"

"When?" she asks.

"During the thing."

"The budget… the memos I'm not getting…. Who I should be speaking to…"

"Yeah, I know….. You were working. But, when you caught my eye, or when we were dancing…"

"She looks down at her drink, and then back up into his eyes. He raises his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.

"Us. Tonight… now… or last night… hard to say really…"

"How did you feel?"

She looks at him and smiles.

"See what I mean?" he says.

She blushes.

He smiles. "It's not about possession, it's about joy."

"Or any other perfume brand?"

He laughs. "How'd I do. Am I out of trouble yet?"

"Almost…"

He smiles intimately at her. "You see, I'm really on such a high all I can manage to use as a reasonable excuse for that male possessiveness that just kind of sweeps over me is.. ..You are so beautiful…"

"You look pretty good yourself, buster."

"Yeah, well, thanks." He smoothes his lapels. "It doesn't really seem fair to me though."

She looks at him quizzically.

"Well… how did modern society come to this?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Why is it that women get away with formal dress that consists of two pretty… and I do mean pretty… simple layers. Well, maybe three at the most, and men end up with at least five layers in a plethora of pieces… and I'm not even counting the cufflinks and collar studs, because I'm thinking that's the equivalent of jewelry… The only part of this ensemble that seems comfortable is the suspenders."

She laughs. "It all depends on your point of view."

"How so?"

"I prefer to think of it as gift wrapped in several layers and tied with a nice bow." She reaches across and undoes his bowtie.

He grabs both her hands, and kisses her gently.

"Wait"

"What for?"

"Cause there's one more thing I want to do," He reaches over to pick up the remote, turns on the stereo and gets up off the couch.

_The long and winding road_

_That leads to your door_

_Will never disappear_

_I've seen that road before_

He holds out his hand. "Dance with me"

_It always leads me here_

_Lead me to your door_

"I danced with you at the reception."

_The wild and windy night_

_That the rain washed away_

_Has let a pool of tears_

_Crying for the day_

"Yeah, but not the way I wanted to," he pulls her up and into his arms.

_Why leave me standing here_

_Let me know the way._

He holds her close, she wraps her arms around him and they slow dance, just barely moving to the music.

_Many times I've been alone_

_And many times I've cried_

_Anyway you'll never know_

_The many ways I've tried_

"You're right. This is like high school." She puts her head down on his shoulder.

He kisses her hair. "See this is how I wanted to dance with you all night."

_But still they lead me back_

_To the long winding road_

It's how they will dance at their wedding reception in the summer to come.

_You left me standing here_

_A long long time ago_

It's how he will dance three years from now, late at night, with their sleepy, grumpy, six month old daughter snuggled on his shoulder.

_Don't leave me waiting here_

_Lead me to your door._


	10. Getting to the Airport

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter ****10****: **** Getting to the Airport**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Takes Place between Institutional Memory and Tomorrow… We're almost done here guys. Thanks for reading.

**Getting to the Airport**

She comes home to his empty apartment. There's a bottle of wine on the kitchen counter with a wine glass beside it, but no note. She misses him already and he hasn't even been gone a day. She pours herself a glass of wine and grabs the remote to turn on the T.V. The stereo clicks on. Damn it he's got this system wired in such a frustrating sequence she never gets the right machine. While she's looking at the remote to figure out which button she needs the music starts.

_I want you  
I want you so bad  
I want you  
I want you so bad  
It's driving me mad  
It's driving me mad_

_  
_She starts to laugh, and picks up the phone to call him.

"Hey, I got your messages" she says

"Yeah. Which ones?"

"There are more?"

"That depends… what'd you get?"

"The wine… and this…" she holds the phone towards the speakers.

_I want you  
I want you so bad, babe  
I want you  
I want you so bad  
It's driving me mad  
It's driving me mad  
_

"That's all?"

"How many are there?"

"Figure it out babe… I'm not tellin'"

"You're crazy, and I miss you."

"Yeah, me too."

*************

At 5:44 AM the phone rings. She gropes for it.

"Good morning Ms. Cregg, this is your 5:45 wake up call."

"What time is it for you, you idiot!"

"Quarter to three. But I'm still on DC time. Are you awake?"

"You didn't think I'd be able to set the alarm by myself, did you!"

"Has it gone off yet?"

There is a pause. "No." she says sheepishly.

He laughs, and just for that moment she feels like it's worth it to be technologically challenged.

***************

There's a message written in soap on the inside of the shower door.

Well, more like an essay really, or a poem. And it's not silly. And it makes her cry. And in spite of her best efforts it gets washed away in the spray of the shower.

She wants to phone him again, but she doesn't want to wake him up.

The phone rings while she's waiting for the coffee to drip through.

"You don't sleep much do you." she says into the phone.

"I'm still on DC time."

"You going to call me every twenty minutes all day?"

"Maybe."

"Thanks for the poem."

"It's a billet doux"

"What?"

"A love letter."

"It was beautiful"

"Well I hope you were naked when you read it."

She has nothing to say.

"I was when I wrote it."

She laughs, "You are very, very bad. I have to go to work now."

"Okay…. I have to go to sleep."

"I doubt it."

"Yeah, me too."

"Do I have them all yet?"

"Nope."

"How many are there?"

"I love you… bye."

**************

Gail has a new ornament. It's two long tailed goldfish kissing, their bodies forming a heart shaped arch for the live fish to swim through. She's pretty sure where it came from.

When she sits down at her computer there's already an MSN message.

"Are you there yet?"

"just got here. Gail says thanks."

"She's a class act."

"I thought you were going back to sleep."

"Yeah….no."

"G2G I have work to do."

" Liar"

"I have senior staff."

"Not for another 15 min. Jim MacIntyre's condo is great. Right near the marina. Cat's not too spooky. We can have it again in February but he's home for the weekend at the end of January to do laundry and repack for Madagascar."

"OK It'll give us time to find something."

"I have a story meeting with him at 9:30. Talk to you later."

*********

She's meeting with Kate when a cell phone rings to the tune of "Do You Want to Know a Secret."

They both wait patiently.

"I think it's yours." Kate says.

"Oh my god!" It takes her a moment to identify the sound, and realize it's her blackberry, which has never sounded like that before. She grabs it from her desk says "Not now" and hangs up.

"You have ring tones?"

"Apparently so."

"Did you want to take that?"

"Not at all"

They look at each other.

****************

"did you mess with my blackberry?"

"absolutely"

"Kate was there"

"LOL"

"I will strangle you with my bare hands"

"Looking forward to it"

"They will not find the body"

"You have to get here first"

"Is that the last?"

"Wait & see ;-)"

******************

When she gets home she finds a Fed Ex envelope shoved under the door. It's addressed to her in a familiar scrawl. Inside is a CD by Sarah McLaughlin with a single track circled in red. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. There's a post it note that says… "just to prove it ain't all about the Beatles. Here's a good theme for you… sadly mine is probably more like Possession, and I know how you feel about that. XOXO Danny"

She puts the CD on, takes her coat off, and pours herself a glass of wine from the bottle he left for her.

_All the fear has left me now  
I'm not frightened anymore  
It's my heart that pounds beneath my flesh  
It's my mouth that pushes out this breath_

And if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love  
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it  
I won't fear love

She calls him.

"How can you be a jackass, and Mr. Sensitive in the same 12 hour period?"

"It's a gift."

_Companion to our demons  
They will dance, and we will play  
With chairs, candles, and cloth  
Making darkness in the day  
It will be easy to look in or out  
Upstream or down without a thought_

And if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love  
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it  
I won't fear love  


"Did it make you cry?"

"Almost…well…yes."

"My work here is done."

_Peace in the struggle  
To find peace  
Comfort on the way  
To comfort_

And if I shed a tear I won't cage it  
I won't fear love  
And if I feel a rage I won't deny it  
I won't fear love  
I won't fear love  
I won't fear love... 

"There's one more."

"When?"

"Now…… under the clock radio… programming instructions."

She laughs.

"I love you"

"Same here. I'll call you tomorrow night. "

"Okay. One more sleep"

"Two more 'til I'm there."

"'Night"

TBC

_  
A/N If you want to read the lyrics and hear the two songs Danny's talking about go to_

.com/sarah-mclachlan/possession/

.com/sarah-mclachlan/fumbling-towards-ecstasy/

Thanks for reading.


	11. Departures and Arrivals

Title: **Dulles to LAX, Indirect.**

**Chapter ****11****: **** Departures and Arrivals**

Pairing: CJ/Danny  
Author: Array  
Email: array_

Rating: PG-13 (adult themes)  
Disclaimer: They're all Aaron's  
Author's Notes: Post canon

**Departures and Arrivals**

She's already in the kitchen when the phone rings.

"Hey. Are you awake?"

"I thought you weren't phoning this morning. I thought you were sleeping."

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss your flight."

"What? Do you think I'm twelve?"

"No, no. I'm not questioning your abilities… it's just that I was the tour coordinator. This is just one of the many services we offer."

"I'm fine. There's a cab picking me up in an hour. I'm all packed. I'm just waiting for the coffee to drip through."

Okay. I'll see you in a couple of hours. Oh, and I left one more thing for you."

"Really! What?"

"It's a play list on your iPod. But don't start it 'til you're on the plane."

"It's all Beatles tunes isn't it."

"No Miss Smarty-pants it's not all Beatles tunes…..Not totally. Anyways, it's just a little something to block out the sound of the plane and keep your mind off the fact that you're trapped in a flying metal tube____"

"Okay Enough! You want me to come out there or not?"

***************

She orders a glass of wine and digs her bottle of Ambien and her iPod out of her purse. She closes the window blind, chokes down the sleeping pill and thumbs through the play lists. Sure enough there's one she doesn't recognize called California. She clicks on it and the first track starts.

_This ain't no disco  
This ain't no country club either, this is L.A.  
All I want to do is have a little fun before I die_

She almost laughs out loud. It's Sheryl Crow.

_All I want to do is have some fun_

_I got a feeling I'm not the only one._

_All I want to do is have some fun_

_I got a feeling I'm not the only one._

_All I want to do is have some fun _

_Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard_

_Until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard_

Then Danny's voice says "Okay I'm not going to DJ all the way through, but I just wanted to tell you that I miss you, and I really wish I was sitting beside you, instead of fast asleep in LA. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm probably awake worrying about whether you made it to the airport in time. Anyways there's enough music here to get you all the way across the country, although I know you'll probably sleep through most of it. I love you, and I'll see you soon," and the ipod moves on to the next track, "California Dreaming." By the time the third track, "Oh Darlin'" is over she's asleep. She drifts in and out for most of the trip, catching little snatches of songs, feeling the vibration of the plane.

*********

"CJ! CJ honey wake up." She starts awake not realizing where she is. His voice continues, "If I did this right you're about 30 minutes out of LAX. I'm probably stuck in traffic on my way to the airport. Anyways there's more on the playlist, but it's not lullabies anymore babe, so wake up!" The next tune is the Beach Boys "California Girls"

He's waiting in the arrivals lounge.

"Hey Sailor, been here long?"

He hugs her tight and kisses her.

"Mmm. You smell good"

She laughs.

"What's so funny?"

"Tell you later…God I hate commercial flights."

"Well, you've been kind of spoiled."

"Yeah, but I'm worth it."

He rolls his eyes. "Let's get your bag."

********

They're walking towards the car in the hazy California sun.

"Want to get something to eat?"

"Not really"

"Want to go back to the apartment and make out?"

"You know… I really do."

"Is that just the Ambien talking?"

She smiles and offers him her wrist. "Recognize this?"

He inhales. "Not really, put it smells terrific."

She smiles sweetly. "It's Possession"

He starts to laugh. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close so he can kiss her.

The End

A/N: If you want one more story in this universe read my "Rules of Engagement"


End file.
